Just got back! (Kansas City, Liberty, Overland: appointed, fit in, rentals)

[sparksharp]

So...we just returned from our long weekend in Kansas City and it was a lot to digest all at once! Several areas we were quite impressed with, and some not so much!

We stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Overland Park Corporate Woods and there was a lot of traffic in that area. The noise from the traffic was quite noticeable, but the hotel had just been remodeled to the tune of 20 million dollars and was quite nice! The bed was quite comfortable and the room service was quick and the food was good! The staff was also quite friendly, pleasant and helpful! We couldn't have been more pleased with our stay!

I really liked Overland Park quite a bit! What I especially enjoyed was the level of city planning that obviously went into developing the city! The finely manicured grassy, landscaped medians were a pleasant surprise! The bushes and trees that are perfectly mulched added a lot of beauty to the area, and that seemed to be the standard everywhere in the city...not just particular subdivisions! Apparently there is a city / county effort to beautify the area...and it's definitely worked!

I also loved all the parkland that had been set aside! There were beautiful parks everywhere! Lots of folks were out walking or biking on the trails and so forth. There are cute little street lights around the city and throughout the subdivisions that are chock full of charm of yesteryear! Most lawns were finely manicured and well kept and I felt very safe in Johnson county!

I did notice some difference in topography in the various cities that we visited. Shawnee seemed to be much more hilly than Overland park...which was relatively flat. The streets seemed much wider in Overland Park than in Shawnee as well. Lenexa didn't impress me much at all beyond the corporate park area that seemed to be modeling itself after Overland Park with the grassy, landscaped medians in the roads. There seemed to be very modest housing in Lenexa along with a lot of rentals, and townhomes / condos. Perhaps we missed the areas with large, fine homes...but we just didn't see them in Lenexa.

My favorite area of Overland Park was the Southern section going towards Leawood! It was a very serene area with nice, well maintained homes and close to Town Center Plaza, which was quite nice! Glen Eagle was especially beautiful! We looked at one house three blocks from Glen Eagle and all I kept thinking was that we could buy that house and take evening walks through the million dollar neighborhood up the street at a fraction of the cost! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!

We fell in love with Mission Hills, but it is quite pricey! I loved all the statuary at the intersections and so forth! There was so much character in that area...I found myself drooling!

The one thing that really disappointed me about Overland Park was Oak Park Mall! That mall needs some serious updating! Gheeze...it looked like it hadn't been refurbished in about 20 years! It is in bad need and frankly it was quite surprising to me and quite disappointing! Perhaps the owners of the mall will read this critique and get with the program and bring that mall up to date! It's really in desperate need in my opinion! I found the interior of the mall quite depressing and frankly I didn't feel a desire to linger.

On Olatha...let's just say it's out of the running! I wasn't impressed at all! There are really some nasty areas in that town and trust me...there is nothing great about The Great Plains Mall!!!!!

Now...on to Platte County! I absolutely loved Zona Rosa and the outlying shopping that was available! It all seemed rather new and it seemed as if the area is an up and coming area that is still growing as opposed to Overland Park which seemed to be built out already. We saw some homes around the area that were quite upscale and well maintained! Some of the subdivisions were absolutely wonderful! Riss Lake and an area around NW Childress Road really impressed us quite a bit...so much so, that we are considering upping the ante on the price we pay for a new home. The NW Mastern Avenue area wooed us as well!

The negative side concerning Platte County seemed to be that once you leave the nice subdivisions it's pretty much hit or miss concerning the maintenance of roads and the area in general. One minute we'll see a very upscale neighborhood, then a block down the street there can be some dilapidated country shacks! It seems to me that there needs to be more county / city planning and zoning concerning the entire area for more uniformity towards beautification. The edges of the streets aren't mowed and maintained, but rather kept brushy and weedy. The streets as a rule seemed very narrow and there wasn't shoulders to pull off on in case of car trouble. We traveled some very narrow country roads that very much resembled some backroads in Tennessee...which isn't necessarily a good thing in my opinion!

Now...Fairfax, Kansas...oh boy...what can I say about that area other than it's a ****hole!!??!?!?? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! The GM plant is the best looking thing over that way! At least they tried to preserve some greenery in the way of grass, trees and bushes! The other industries in the area are nothing but blight! So...the hubs and I fondly nicknamed Fairfax..."the ****hole"! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! The Fairfax bridge isn't really anything to write home about either...rather scary actually! No artistry to it whatsoever...merely function done on the cheap. All the railroad tracks in the area were a bit disturbing as well. Every couple seconds we were crossing another set of tracks! Whew! There's a lot of tracks in that area to be sure! This area is screaming for some urban renewal and attention to detail for aesthetic purposes. Just cause it's industry, doesn't mean it has to be blight!

Ward Avenue was beautiful! And Country Club Plaza was very unique! It was a very busy area with lots of folks enjoying strolling the streets! It looked like a good place to spend an afternoon or evening just checking things out! Brookside also had some charm, but personally it just wasn't my style!

The Villages West also was quite impressive with all the growth out that way! And the Nebraska Furniture Mart is just huge!!!!! We didn't go in, but just from the size of the building, it looked massive! However...Wyandottes demographics didn't make the cut as far as us considering buying a house there...sorry Wyandotte!

So...the bottom line on where we will wind up living when we make the move will either be in Platte County towards Zona Rosa, Mastern Road, Childress Road area, or in Southeastern Johnson County. Traffic and the drive to work for the hubs would be quicker and easier from the Zona Rosa area...but I do like Southern Overland Park quite a bit! Both areas are still in play for us!

I'm not sure about Clay county. We looked at one house up that way that seemed to be really out in the boons! Perhaps we just haven't seen the good areas of Clay...something closer into the city / civilization? We still have a lot of homework to do about the area before definitely deciding where we'll live, but with our trip over the Labor Day weekend we have a much better feel for the area and it's layout.

[luzianne]

That's the area I like in Overland Park, too! I love the area bordered by 119th and 143rd on the northa and south, and Mission and Metcalf on the east and west. I live in Prairie Village, which is right next to Mission Hills. If it were me, I'd choose the newer area of Leawood/Overland Park over Mission Hills, but then I like newer stuff. I like Prairie Village a lot, but it is 50 years old. If I/when I move, it will be southern Johnson County to the newer areas.

I haven't shopped at Oak Park in years. I can find everything I need at Town Center or places near there.

I agree about Olathe. Some parts very nice and new, and other parts not so much.

I can't comment on Zona Rosa. I've been there once. But I'm just not a Missouri person; I like my Johnson County, so I can only say I wouldn't live there because it wouldn't be "home" to me.

[Samantha S]

I thought about you this weekend! I'm glad your trip went well. It sounds like you really made the rounds! Had great weather too eh!?

I think your observations were pretty good. I don't think you missed anything. In fact you should link people to your post who are considering moving to the area!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I haven't shopped at Oak Park in years. I can find everything I need at Town Center or places near there.

Same here, don't get to Oak Park Mall much. I do think some renovations are underway though. It looks different to me when I do go there.

But I totally agree about the Olathe Mall - that's just a sad sad place to shop. Too bad too, because the concept of an outlet mall in Olathe was a good one, I think. But I don't know what happened.

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by luzianne

I can't comment on Zona Rosa. I've been there once. But I'm just not a Missouri person; I like my Johnson County, so I can only say I wouldn't live there because it wouldn't be "home" to me.

Why do you have to be a "missouri person" to visit Zona Rosa? I don't care for Oak Park Mall because I don't like the mall that well. Half the cars in the parking lot of Oak Park or Leawood Town Center have MO tags though, so you are still around MO people.

If Zona Rosa were in KS I would visit it. We frequent most of the shopping distircts on the KS side when we are close or just want a change of scenery. Just because I like zona rosa better doesn't mean it will drive clear up there everytime.

Whatever...

Anyway.

Great post sparksharp. Good luck where ever you end up. The KC area is a great area. Don't give Fairfax too hard a time. It's heavy industry. Industry that places like JoCo wouldn’t even allow, yet that area provides a lot of the kinds of jobs that the USA loses more of every year and WyCo gives out massive tax breaks so those companies stay in the area while most of the employees live outside the county. It's not supposed to be pretty. It’s supposed to be functional, and Fairfax is still one of the most active heavy industrial areas of the country. There are a lot of major cities out there that have massive districts the size of fairfax that are nothing but empty factories and abandoned buildings. If you think Fairfax is industrial blight, you have not been to many of the cities of in the rust belt.

Anyway. Glad you enjoyed KC.

You might check out some areas it sounds like you might have missed. Lenexa has some great upscale areas around K-7 and Platte has some more around Tiffany Springs. Sounds like you missed Clay all together, next time look at the areas around 152 and Shoal Creek Parkway. And it’s Ward "Parkway" .

But I agree with your overall post.

[RJDBLues]

What a great post! It was neat to get an outsiders view of the area too. We should be making our pre-move visit next month. I hope I can pack in as many places as you did. Thanks for all the great info.!

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Why do you have to be a "missouri person" to visit Zona Rosa? I don't care for Oak Park Mall because I don't like the mall that well. Half the cars in the parking lot of Oak Park or Leawood Town Center have MO tags though, so you are still around MO people.
" .

But I agree with your overall post.

Why do you have to be so anti-Johnson County that you see everything through those Missouri attitude colored glasses? I didn't say I don't visit Zona Rosa because I'm not a Missouri person. I said I wouldn't LIVE there, and if you took the time to read my post before jumping to reply, you would have seen that I said I have been to Zona Rosa once. I don't NEED to go to Zona Rosa because I have everything I need closer than that, and there is no need for me to drive way up there. I said I wouldn't LIVE near Zona Rosa because I'm not a "Missouri person" - meaning I would not want to live in Missouri, because I like Johnson County.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

The one thing that really disappointed me about Overland Park was Oak Park Mall! That mall needs some serious updating! Gheeze...it looked like it hadn't been refurbished in about 20 years! It is in bad need and frankly it was quite surprising to me and quite disappointing! Perhaps the owners of the mall will read this critique and get with the program and bring that mall up to date! It's really in desperate need in my opinion! I found the interior of the mall quite depressing and frankly I didn't feel a desire to linger.

Oak Park Mall is actually one of the highest grossing malls in the entire nation. What do you think needs to be refurbished about it? I dont go there much because it is 35 minutes away from my home but if I lived closer, there is likely where I would shop. I think it is a nice mall.

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Now...on to Platte County! I absolutely loved Zona Rosa and the outlying shopping that was available! It all seemed rather new and it seemed as if the area is an up and coming area that is still growing as opposed to Overland Park which seemed to be built out already. We saw some homes around the area that were quite upscale and well maintained! Some of the subdivisions were absolutely wonderful! Riss Lake and an area around NW Childress Road really impressed us quite a bit...so much so, that we are considering upping the ante on the price we pay for a new home. The NW Mastern Avenue area wooed us as well!

The negative side concerning Platte County seemed to be that once you leave the nice subdivisions it's pretty much hit or miss concerning the maintenance of roads and the area in general. One minute we'll see a very upscale neighborhood, then a block down the street there can be some dilapidated country shacks! It seems to me that there needs to be more county / city planning and zoning concerning the entire area for more uniformity towards beautification. The edges of the streets aren't mowed and maintained, but rather kept brushy and weedy. The streets as a rule seemed very narrow and there wasn't shoulders to pull off on in case of car trouble. We traveled some very narrow country roads that very much resembled some backroads in Tennessee...which isn't necessarily a good thing in my opinion!

Platte County is a diverse area. I actually view that as a good thing. Something that you probably need to understand is that those nice neighborhoods you are referring to havent been there for more than 15 years and much of it was built in the last 7-8 years. Before that much of that area was rural or pretty spread out.

The county cant just go in and start tearing down people's houses nor should they.

For example, I live in a typical suburban neighborhood. But, I can drive less than 5 minutes and see land with 20 acres and horses and goats.

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Now...Fairfax, Kansas...oh boy...what can I say about that area other than it's a ****hole!!??!?!?? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! The GM plant is the best looking thing over that way! At least they tried to preserve some greenery in the way of grass, trees and bushes! The other industries in the area are nothing but blight! So...the hubs and I fondly nicknamed Fairfax..."the ****hole"! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! The Fairfax bridge isn't really anything to write home about either...rather scary actually! No artistry to it whatsoever...merely function done on the cheap. All the railroad tracks in the area were a bit disturbing as well. Every couple seconds we were crossing another set of tracks! Whew! There's a lot of tracks in that area to be sure! This area is screaming for some urban renewal and attention to detail for aesthetic purposes. Just cause it's industry, doesn't mean it has to be blight!

I've never been to a city where the area with all the factory's is nice. Why does an area filled with factories needs to be nice? If you do any work, it will look like **** within a year due to the pollution anyway.

Ward Avenue was beautiful! And Country Club Plaza was very unique! It was a very busy area with lots of folks enjoying strolling the streets! It looked like a good place to spend an afternoon or evening just checking things out! Brookside also had some charm, but personally it just wasn't my style!

The Villages West also was quite impressive with all the growth out that way! And the Nebraska Furniture Mart is just huge!!!!! We didn't go in, but just from the size of the building, it looked massive! However...Wyandottes demographics didn't make the cut as far as us considering buying a house there...sorry Wyandotte!

Originally Posted by sparksharp

So...the bottom line on where we will wind up living when we make the move will either be in Platte County towards Zona Rosa, Mastern Road, Childress Road area, or in Southeastern Johnson County. Traffic and the drive to work for the hubs would be quicker and easier from the Zona Rosa area...but I do like Southern Overland Park quite a bit! Both areas are still in play for us!!

Something to consider in your decision is that living in JoCo is more expensive. Property taxes are more than double and gas is even more expensive. People have also told me that groceries are more expensive as well but I dont know how true that is.

For example, taxes on my house in Clay County is $1550 a year. A house that is equivalent in size and value in Johnson County would be about $3,200.

Gas is always about .10 cents or more per gallon more expensive.

Traffic is also worse in JoCo, especially during the day. I work in JoCo and rarely leave my office for lunch because there is a good chance I wont make it back to my office in time. I cant stand driving in JoCo. I am very glad I work right off the highway and can get back up north easily.

Originally Posted by sparksharp

I'm not sure about Clay county. We looked at one house up that way that seemed to be really out in the boons! Perhaps we just haven't seen the good areas of Clay...something closer into the city / civilization? We still have a lot of homework to do about the area before definitely deciding where we'll live, but with our trip over the Labor Day weekend we have a much better feel for the area and it's layout.

Where did you go in Clay County? A large portion of Clay County is right there connected to Platte County and really isnt much different. In fact, most people refer to Clay and Platte county as the same area.

[sparksharp]

That's the area I like in Overland Park, too!

I can see why! It's a very attractive area!

What a great post! It was neat to get an outsiders view of the area too. We should be making our pre-move visit next month. I hope I can pack in as many places as you did. Thanks for all the great info.!

I'll tell ya...it was a busy weekend to be sure! My brain was rather fried by the time we got on the plane to head back home. It's an awful lot to take in all at once!

I thought about you this weekend! I'm glad your trip went well. It sounds like you really made the rounds! Had great weather too eh!?

Yep, the weather cooperated pretty well for all of our traipsing around.

I'll tell ya what...the money we spent for a Garmin before our trip was well worth it! She's gonna be my new best friend when we move out there! Trying to learn a new area without a GPS would be very difficult with paper maps and having to stop every few minutes to figure out where I was and which way I needed to go. We kept calling the Garmin lady the Garmin chick...and eventually we nicknamed her "Chicklet"! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!

Anyway...having the GPS was one of the reasons we were able to fit in so many areas while we were there. I highly recommend that anyone going to a new city invest in one! They definitely earn their keep!

You might check out some areas it sounds like you might have missed. Lenexa has some great upscale areas around K-7 and Platte has some more around Tiffany Springs. Sounds like you missed Clay all together, next time look at the areas around 152 and Shoal Creek Parkway. And it’s Ward "Parkway" .

I know we missed a whole lot of Clay! And being rookies to the area, I'm sure we missed a lot of Lenexa as well. What I did was printed off information off the web about houses we were interested in and did drive by's. After that we continued to check out the area around the houses to get a feel for the surrounding neighborhoods, but I'm sure we missed a whole lot! We had preprogrammed a bunch of stuff into the GPS before we even left Tennessee so we would be armed and ready! I only had one house printed off for Clay Co. so we didn't spend much time there.

We also programmed some points of interest into the GPS as well, such as Zona Rosa, Villages West, Oak Park mall and so forth to check out the variety of shopping around the area too. I can't recommend a GPS system enough for anyone going to a new area! It really came in handy!

What I didn't see in Lenexa, Shawnee or Clay county was a lot of good shopping. It seemed to me that if you live in Lenexa or Shawnee, you'd have to go into Overland Park to do any real shopping. And in Clay it seemed to me that one would have to go into Platte towards Zona Rosa to do any real shopping. But again, I may have missed a whole lot being a rookie to the area. So...are my observations correct on that issue, or did I just miss the main shopping districts for those areas?

Something that I would recommend to anyone visiting a new area that they are moving too, would be to go into the malls, shopping districts, Target or Walmart and just walk around a bit doing some people watching. Or sit on a bench outside a given store with high traffic and watch who is coming and going. It's a good way to gauge the community and the type / caliber of people that live and shop in a given area.

I just want to thank you all again for all the great information you've given me over the last couple weeks! You all have been very informative and helped me get prepared for the trip as far as places to check out! I really appreciate the help!

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

What I didn't see in Lenexa, Shawnee or Clay county was a lot of good shopping. It seemed to me that if you live in Lenexa or Shawnee, you'd have to go into Overland Park to do any real shopping. And in Clay it seemed to me that one would have to go into Platte towards Zona Rosa to do any real shopping. But again, I may have missed a whole lot being a rookie to the area. So...are my observations correct on that issue, or did I just miss the main shopping districts for those areas?

Something that I would recommend to anyone visiting a new area that they are moving too, would be to go into the malls, shopping districts, Target or Walmart and just walk around a bit doing some people watching. Or sit on a bench outside a given store with high traffic and watch who is coming and going. It's a good way to gauge the community and the type / caliber of people that live and shop in a given area.

There is no lacking for shopping in any of those areas.

Shawnee has their downtown along Johnson Drive with all kinds of shops.

I am not sure how you missed shopping in Lenexa. That place is basically one large strip mall. If you blink your eyes, you will miss like 10 stores. It is Town Center Plaza which is several large strip malls put into a large shopping district.

Something to note is that Clay and Platte is one area. You will find when living here that people dont think of it as two seperate areas. Unless they are specifically referring to the county governments, you will never hear anyone reference to anything as either Clay or Platte. It is referred to as "the Northland".

Regardless, Clay has shopping as well. Up near Liberty there is a large shopping area and there is N. Oak Tfwy which has different shops all along it and Barry Rd as well.

Unless you live in a rural area, you will never be more than a 5-10 minute drive from all the shopping you need.